New Craft Supplies in My Shop!

As I mentioned last week, I've re-opened my craft supplies shop and am busy stocking it with lots of colourful, crafty goodness.

I've been busy photographing, measuring, and listing a whole bunch of lovely new things. Wanna see?

There are felt rainbows (and pick-you-own-colour felt squares), rainbow ribbons, pretty rainbows of pins, and bargain rainbow embroidery thread bundles. So much lovely colour!

I've also got some fab ribbon that's printed to look like a measuring tape, some black elastic for mask-making, cover buttons and a super-useful button covering tool (perfect for making felt buttons), and some GORGEOUS shimmery two-tone buttons.

Then there's embroidery scissors (so useful for cutting out small felt pieces!), lovely wooden cotton reels, big card bobbins for organising your yarns and ribbons, and some white elastic.

I've also bought some cute and colourful stickers. These are great for crafty projects, gift wrapping, journalling and scrapbooking, and for sticking on your snail mail.

There are cute woodland animal stickers (I've been sticking these on my shop parcels lately, I love them!), rainbow star, dot, and heart sticker sheets, and lots of colourful dots. I think the dots would be wonderful for creating bullet-pointed lists in your journal or diary!

I've also got colourful retro vinyl stickers featuring rainbows and unicorns and other fun stuff, and I've got some bargain books of mini stickers: cute kitties and happy stars.

Pen-wise, I've listed some fun colour-changing pens and a pair of metallic markers (I love a good metallic marker!). Then I've got giant wooden pegs (because why not? Oversized stuff is so joyful!) and packs of gorgeous glitter card (sooooooo shiny).

If you'd rather have tiny pegs than giant ones, don't worry - I've got you covered. I'm also selling a fab pack of luggage tags (I just adore those bright colours), a useful pack of coloured card, and some flower press kits.

I'm particularly excited to be stocking the flower presses as I feel like they're just the kind of relaxing, nature-loving craft we all need right now! I've got three sizes in stock, ranging from a mini press to the biggest flower press I have ever seen in my LIFE (seriously, it is HUGE). The boards are blank for you to decorate with paint, decoupage, stickers, etc, so one of these kits is basically two crafty projects in one. 

Click here to visit my shop and see everything that's in stock!

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With... Washi Tape!

This Christmas my gift wrapping was all about decorative tape!   

 

 

 

It's so easy to add simple stripes of washi or glitter tape to plain parcels, and the effect is fantastic. I wrapped all my gifts with brown paper then decorated them with lines of pretty tape: narrow but super sparkly glitter tape, and a trio of green and pink tapes with festive woodland designs on them.

I'd really recommend this as an easy way to wrap special gifts, whatever the occasion. Just choose tape in appropriate colours and designs and get sticking. Everyone was a lot more impressed with the results than my level of effort really deserved!

The glitter tape looked really fabulous against the plain brown parcel paper.

Top tip: if you're adding stripes to the centre of a parcel, start with the line that's in the very centre then work outwards.

Try to keep your lines evenly space and if you're adding two overlapping sets of stripes make sure to take extra care that you're sticking the colours in the same order each time. I wrapped these gifts quite late one night and didn't pay enough attention to the colours and was super annoyed when I realised my mistake.

Of course, this is one of those things where really no-one will notice you've made a mistake unless you point it out to them but if you're a crafty perfectionist like me it will get on your nerves!

The gifts I wrapped with the pretty woodland tape were much more subtle than all that colourful glitter (everything is more subtle than glitter, isn't it?)  but the finished effect was still very lovely.

As you can see I used six stripes per parcel, varying the position of the stripes to give each package a slightly different look. 

I didn't get a chance to take close-up pics of these so you can see just how pretty that tape looked because my camera battery died about 30 seconds after taking the photos in this post... but here's a card I made using tape from the same range. Isn't it charming?

Click here for lots of ideas for making simple cards with washi tape (this post was originally designed as a Christmas crafting post, but if you use non-Christmassy tape I think these card designs would work all year round), or visit my tutorial archive for lots more card-making and gift wrapping ideas.

Work In Progress: Sewing, Knitting, Mending & Sorting

As always, I've got lots of projects in progress...

This weekend I spent several relaxing hours sewing felt flowers onto this cushion cover, which I last worked on in November (!!).

Back in November I'd got so close to finishing this but it's been sitting in crafty limbo ever since.  All the flowers I'd pinned and tacked in place back then have now been properly stitched in position and I just need to add a few more small flowers at the edges to fill in the remaining gaps.

I've also re-started a much-neglected knitting project (visiting a knitting festival does tend to put one in the mood to knit!).

Let's not talk about how I was determined to get this finally finished in time for Christmas 2015 and it's now February 2016, okay??? Shhh, it can be our secret.

This weekend I've also been mending my much-beloved vintage coat. After sewing on a missing button, I'm now mending some tears in the lining and holes in the pockets. Not at all exciting - and sewing black on black is such a pain - but important!

Does a project count as "in progress" if you've just bought the materials for it? Because I think this one might technically be a new project as I've yet to start it (or even make a real plan for how I'm going to make it) but I have bought the fabrics and washed/ironed them.

Semantics aside, these lovelies are going to be a small quilt for summer picnics and (of course) trips to the beach.

I'm also continuing my ongoing "sort out everything in my studio" project. Everything is looking so neat and organised, it's quietly thrilling.

One of this weekend's tasks was to sort through my stash of sewing thread - you probably can't tell from this photo that this is the "after" photo but it is!

My most-used colours (which match the felt shades in my stash) are in the drawer on the left, and the rest are in the drawer on the right. Not the most complicated system, I'll grant you, but a system nonetheless :)

Meanwhile, the urge to sort and declutter is contagious and my mum has been bitten by the bug. I've been helping her clear out assorted cupboards and take things to charity shops... and I've ended up with some new/old things that she's decluttered!

I've inherited a few bits of vintage crockery that belonged to my grandparents, including these pretty dishes (one Poole, one Carlton Ware). Aren't they lovely?

 

I'm also now the proud owner of some craft supplies which were left over from our childhood crafting sessions, then forgotten about in the back of a cupboard. These tubes of glitter will be an especially useful addition to my crafty stash!
 

Right, that's enough waffling about WIPs... I'm off to make the most of my "extra day" by doing something crafty :)

#Crafting365 Days 49-55: Autumn Colour & Lots of Glitter

The past week or so of my #Crafting365 project has mostly involved snatching small bits of creative, crafty time between work tasks and other things on my To Do list. I'm half sad that I've just been crafting in these little snippets, and half happy that my #Crafting365 challenge made me focus and actually use that time to make stuff instead of just letting it slip away.

I must try and schedule some proper making days this month!

On day 49 I used the felt leaves I'd cut out the day before to make an autumnal branch. I'm not 100% sure this works (it maybe looks like the branch is on fire??) but I quite like it, and it was a very fun make. Three of these displayed in a vase would look awesome!

I'd actually painted this branch aaaaages ago - I painted a few twigs when working on this bird mobile, as featured in docrafts Creativity magazine, then chose my favourites to use as the base for the mobile. It seemed a shame to just throw away the leftover branch, so I kept it... waiting for just the right project to come along.

If you want to make your own autumnal branch, it's very easy. Collect a fallen branch/twig and (if needed) let it dry. Paint it white (I used two coats of white acrylic paint from docrafts' Artiste range). Cut out a selection of leaves in autumnal colours - I used felt but you could use coloured paper or card instead. Then when the paint has completely dried, use a glue gun to attach the leaves to the branch.

Day 50 was a very busy deadline day, so I just did some a bit of colouring in to help me relax and wind down in the evening. Have you caught the colouring in bug yet? I am well and truly hooked, and delighted that there are so many great "adult" colouring books to choose from these days.

Day 52 involved lots of glitter! I needed sparkly silver baubles but couldn't find them in the size I wanted, so I used some glue and lots and lots of glitter to turn plain white baubles into super sparkly ones. Messy but lots of fun!

I also did some more simple knitting in the evening, which was also my craft of choice the evening of day 52. Knitting these simple garter stitch squares is such a great way to switch off my brain after a hectic day of rushing around ticking things off To Do lists.

I couldn't resist taking a snap of my knitting with some leaves in the background. Such yummy autumn colours!

The knitting continued on day 53...

I finished the orange squares and started knitting with the next colour: yellow. My mum was slightly concerned that I had started a crazily bright orange blanket (she is not a fan of orange) but I explained that these squares are just for the orange and yellow section of my happy rainbow blanket. With just a few colours still to add, I am getting quite excited about seeing this blanket come together!

The next day (Saturday) was supposed to be day 54 of my #Crafting365 project, but I took a Nice Day Out and went to Bath and spent a long and lovely day exploring the city, visiting lots of museums and exhibitions and generally enjoying the glorious autumn sunshine... then when I got home I just crashed on the sofa and forgot to do any crafting! Oops.

One of the exhibitions I visited - Nahoki Kojima's amazing Honey Bee paper cut sculpture, at the Holburne Museum - was kind of crafty? But that really doesn't count, does it?

So, instead, I am counting Sunday's craftiness as day 54. I've skipped two days of this daily project in about 50 days, which isn't too bad, right??

On Sunday I took a break from all that knitting and added the final rows of squares to my Christmas Quilt (I'm making this as a gift for my sister - you can read all about it here). 

I'd hoped to get them all stitched by the end of the evening, but with a few inches left to sew I started getting tired and thought I'd better put the project down before I stitched the wrong thing or stabbed myself with a needle! Just a few more stitches then I can start on the actual quilting! (exciting!! scary!!!)

Then I was back on my knitting obsession on day 55, but not loving knitting with the yellow yarn as much as the orange. So, I decided to mix things up a bit and alternate between knitting squares in three of the remaining colours: green, pink and yellow. These shades look so great together - so bright and zingy, like yummy boiled sweets (hard candies).

P.S. Here's a bonus photo from last week: a smart-looking pencil I was using in some step-by-step tutorial photos, with the actual (short, scruffy) pencil I'd actually used to make the project :)

DIY Christmas Cards & Advent Garland

Today I'm sharing an idea for making some easy Christmas cards using some of my free felt ornament patterns.

You can make sparkly Christmas cards...

... or an advent garland made from 24 mini envelopes:

For both projects, you'll need the templates from the following felt ornament tutorials:

Candy Cane Ornaments
Snowmen Ornaments
& Christmas Tree Ornaments

To make the Christmas cards...

1) Cut out all the templates you want to use, turn them over and trace the shapes onto the appropriate colours of paper or card with a pencil. Cut out the coloured shapes and turn them over - any pencil marks will now be hidden at the back. I used plain paper/card for most of the pieces but used some shiny gold wrapping paper for the stars on the Christmas trees.

2) Arrange the pieces and take a note of which pieces are underneath or overlapped by the others and will need to be glued on first. Use a glue stick to glue each piece in position on a blank card, leaving space at the bottom of the card for a message if you want one.

3) Use a black pen to draw eyes and buttons on your snowmen and to write your choice of message along the bottom of the card (it's a good idea to write this in pencil first, or you may end up with an off-centre message like I did! Oops).

4) You could leave the cards as they are if you want (I think the snowman and candy cane cards look rather nice left un-decorated) but it's good to have some sparkle at Christmas, right? So now's the time to add it. You can decorate the shapes with glitter glue, or brush on PVA glue and sprinkle it with glitter in the colour you want...

You could cover the whole tree shape with green glitter, or add glitter to dots or lines of PVA glue / draw on lines or dots with glitter glue, or use PVA glue to stick on some sparkly sequins.

If you're using two colours of glitter (e.g. for the candy cane) make sure one section is totally dry before glueing-and-glittering the next.

Glitter is a bit tricky to photograph (especially the white stuff!) but trust me, the finished cards are SUPER sparkly :)

For extra Christmas loveliness, why not make a felt ornament to match the card and slip it inside when you send it?

To make the advent garland... follow steps 1 & 2 as above but stick your shapes onto mini envelopes.

Then use a black pen to draw on the eyes and buttons for the snowmen, and to number each envelope. You will need 24 envelopes to make up your advent garland but you don't have to make all the envelopes as detailed as these - you could add some with simple stars and hearts as well.

Then fill the envelopes with happy messages / wrapped sweets / etc and use mini pegs and a length of ribbon or twine to hang up the garland.

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it for as many cards / garlands as you like to give to friends and family but please don't make any for sale. Please feel free to borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial on your site. Thanks!

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Book Review: 101+ Things to do with Glitter

The shops are starting to fill up with all sorts of sparkly stuff at the moment, ready for Christmas and "the party season"... so it seems rather appropriate to be reviewing a craft book that's all about glitter!

101+ Things To Do With Glitter, is the latest book by my crafty chum Momtaz Begum-Hussain.

Just like Momtaz herself, this book is fun and colourful and crafty and very sparkly... the cover even has glittery text on it, which is rather cool.

The book includes a "Master It!" section which covers the techniques used in the book - check out the fab sparkly nails in those pics!

There's a history of glitter, information about how it's made and info about the different types of glitter & how to use them. There's also an A to Z of places/ways to find inspiration, and a guide to keeping scrapbooks which I think is a great addition to a beginner-friendly craft book. The reader is really encouraged to use their imagination, and to not feel intimidated by crafting but to just get stuck in and be creative.

The projects in the book are divided into four sections - fashion & accessories, home & interiors, gifts & food, and cards & papercraft. They're illustrated with a photograph of the finished item, and include step by step instructions and a list of the materials you'll need to make it. There are also small project ideas dotted throughout the book, like covering toy cars with glitter to make favours for a Bond-themed party, or making glitter jelly.

Lots of the projects are fun ideas for customising / decorating things to make them super sparkly.

There are glitter-covered buttons...

...  a dustpan and brush decorated with glitter, fake flowers and toy soldiers...

... and ornaments made using glitter-coated embroidery hoops (I love this idea!).

But there are also projects to make things from scratch, like this jewelled crown...

... and these fun glitter-filled bracelets which are similar to some I owned (and adored) as a teen:

 

As you might have guessed, this isn't a stylish coffee table book with chic projects and exquisitely styled photography... instead it's got a fun, teen-friendly feel to it. Some of the photo spreads remind me of teen magazines...

... and there are a whole bunch of fun details throughout the book, like a guide to "how to spy animals in the wild" which includes the tip "learn to speak in an animal tongue and arrange a meeting with the leader of the pack".

I probably wouldn't make most of the projects in here for myself, but I would have loved this book when I was a teenager with a big collection of sparkly nail polish... and most of the designs would have been a HUGE hit with my friends if I'd made them for birthday/Christmas gifts. Most of the projects are quite easy/accessible to make, great for younger or less experienced crafters or anyone after a quick crafty fix. A lot of them would be great craft projects for crafty afternoons with friends or for making at a birthday party (where you'd have to serve some of that glitter jelly!).

I think this book would be a fab gift for crafty teens or for any of your friends who like all things sparkly - or, of course, a great addition to your bookshelf if you're a glitter fan yourself!

101+ Things To Do With Glitter! is published by Vivays Publishing. RRP £14.95. It's available from Amazon UK, Amazon USA, The Book Depository and many other bookshops.

[Disclaimer: Vivays Publishing sent me a free review copy of this book, and the Amazon & Book Depository links in this post are affiliate links]